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Geeta Sadashivan

@geetasadashivan

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Pre-retirement, I taught composition at Cascadia College and UW-Bothell. I earned my degree in Graphic Design from SCCA (Seattle) in June 2021.

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Today is a happy day! A book by Puffin (UK) "Stories for South Asian Super Kids" by Raj Kaur Khaira, to which I had contributed my illustrations found its way into my hot little hands--FINALLY!!! Man, publication is a long process. But I am so glad the book is now available in bookstores.

You can see my spreads on the other slides, but my work is just a drop in the bucket of this book. There are many other amazing South Asian figures whose portraits have been created--by amazing artists such as Manjit Thapp @manjitthapp and Mira Felicia Malhotra @kokumkohla, among others. Get your copy--this book is full of inspiration!
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#indianillustrator #southasian #superheroes #salmanrushdie #asmakhan #pragnapatel #brahmagupta #fazlurrahmankhan #youngadultbooks #inspirational #booksforteens #edutainment #bookillustrator #portraits #portraitartist by @geetasadashivan

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a year ago

I created this image because I was struck by some passages from the novel, A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth.
My image is inspired by what a character named Ameet says about the process of writing his novel, comparing it to the course of the river Ganges, the growth of a banyan tree, and the performance of Hindustani music. (See slide 2 for the exact text.)

As I lingered over the metaphors in these passages, my mind started linking all three metaphors and I realized that the god Shiva embodies all of them in his Dakshinamurthi form, where he has the Ganga cascading from his hair, and he sits under a banyan tree, playing music on his instrument, the Veena.

So there you have it. What is going on here? It's an abstract portrait of Shiva.
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#Shiva #Dakshinamurthy #Dakshinamurthi #portrait #adaptation #metaphors #asuitableboy #vikramseth #ganges #ganga #river #delta #banyan #tree #veena #musicalinstrument #hindustanimusic #raag #raga #novel #inspiration by @geetasadashivan

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11 days ago

Last week, I attended workshops and tutorials by @twotap.art In one of them, I created an art nouveau-style letter R with flowers entwined around it (slide 2). So yesterday, for the festival celebrating our god, Ganesha, it occurred to me to use the same technique in a piece focusing on Ganesha.

I usually make a portrait, but this time I made an abstract version. Ganesha is often represented by the well-known sound, "Om" which is made of three Sanskrit letters. I took the Om letters and shaped the ending to represent an elephant's trunk. I added a "modak." Ganesha's favorite sweet treat, which looks like a golden dumpling. Then I added twining hibiscus flowers because that is Ganesha's favorite flower.
I think it turned out well, but I am not seeing the smoothness and swirliness of art nouveau. Oh well! A story about Ganesha says that his pen stopped working when he was writing the Mahabharata, so he broke one of his tusks and used that as a writing tool. Moral of the story: Don't be a perfectionist--use whatever you have in terms of material or skills and keep going!
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#ganesha #artnouveau #lettering #letterart #om #hibiscus #flowers #botanicalart #indianartandcrafts #ganeshchaturthi #hindufestival #hindugods #procreate #digitalart by @geetasadashivan

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a month ago

A tribute to the late Dolly Parton, this is a portrait I made of her, done Madhubani-style. I was inspired by a traditional Indian folk-art piece featuring the goddess, Saraswati, with her musical instrument and her swan (slide 2) done in the Kalighat style.

As you can see, Dolly's guitar has been replaced with Saraswati's lute, but Saraswati's golden crown is replaced with Dolly's famous blonde wig. The swan is replaced with two eagles because Dolly made a big contribution to saving the endangered bald eagle. The portrait also features other things associated with Dolly, such as roses, rhinestones, sequins, hoop earrings, and high heels.
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#dollyparton #madhubani #madhubaniart #folkart #portrait #celebrity #countrysongartist #legends #icons #saraswati #kalighat #madhubanistyle #indianfolkart #indianartsandcrafts #baldeagle #roses #portraitartist #tribute #celebrityportrait #musician by @geetasadashivan

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a month ago

This image was inspired by the movie, "Tony," (a biopic about Anthony Bourdain) in which one of the characters is called a "sin-eater." In many cultures, including India, there is a designated person who comes to a funeral and eats food that "belongs to the dead," and by doing so, they take on the sins of the dead person and allow him to go to heaven. The "sin-eater" ritual reminds me of the scapegoats in ancient times, and also, the story of how Jesus atoned for the sins of humanity through his own crucifixion.
In Hinduism, we have the story of the god, Shiva, who drank the poison generated by the tug-of-war between the gods and the demons. The difference, though, is that Shiva never actually swallowed the poison; he kept it in his throat and it never got to his heart. In this way, he cleansed the world without becoming toxic or killing himself in the process.
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #sineater #tony #tonythemovie #outcast #scapegoat #anthonybourdain #bourdainbiopic #biopic #hindugods #shiva #neelkanth #icon #sacredart #folkart #indianartsandcrafts #indianillustrator #sacredstories #rituals #funeralcustom #posterart by @geetasadashivan

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2 months ago

My last piece inspired by Christopher Nolan's movie, the Odyssey, is this Penelope. Once again, I have referenced the representation of Durga/Kali in Madhubani-style art to show Penelope's "shakti" (power) which is the power of patience and endurance. Multiple hands are used commonly in portraits of Hindu goddesses to show their superhuman skills, but here they show how Penelope worked round the clock, weaving a cloth by day and unraveling the threads at night to trick her unwanted suitors.
In the background, I have included a pattern showing the phases of the moon. This serves many purposes--association with the divine feminine, women's power, the way Penelope worked secretly all night, and the many years she waited for Odysseus to return.
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #folkart #indianartsandcrafts #odyssey #odysseythemovie #christophernolan #penelope #weaving #goddess #shakti #durga #kali #loom #bonepin #moon #mooncycle #moonphases #women #fortitude #sacredart #mythology #visualstorytelling by @geetasadashivan

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2 months ago

Madhubani-style representation of the Circe episode from Christopher Nolan's movie, The Odyssey. This was the most disturbing scene of the movie to me-- the human faces being pulled and shaped into pig-faces! So hideous. Of course, seeing a single woman confront and subdue a horde of men immediately made of think of Devi fighting the Asuras. The references I have made are pretty obvious, I think.
Making this version was a struggle, but it definitely conveys my viewing experience.
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #folkart #indianfolkart #indianartsandcrafts #odyssey #theodyssey #odysseythemovie #christophernolan #circe #sorceress #devi #demonslayer #powerfulwomen #witch #bhadrakali #durga #goddess #hindugods by @geetasadashivan

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2 months ago

"Calypso" and the island of the Lotus-Eaters done Madhubani-style. It looks a bit Art Noveau rather than Madhubani, maybe? But I like how it came out.
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #odyssey #calypso #lotuseaters #island #odysseythemovie #christophernolan #indianartsandcrafts #bengaliart #indianfolkart #folkart by @geetasadashivan

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2 months ago

Another Madhubani-style representation of a scene from the Odyssey. This is a POV shot-- Athena, Zeus and maybe other gods looking down at the green, fertile earth (symbolized by the leaf-and-flowers border) and zooming into the sea, where there is a little boat and some men trying to go home.
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #indianart #folkart #indianfolkart #indianartsandcrafts #odyssey #odysseythemovie #christophernolan #greekmyth #greekgods #boats #journey #voyage #goinghome #sea by @geetasadashivan

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3 months ago

I saw the Christopher Nolan movie, the Odyssey, and was inspired to create a Madhubani-style Trojan horse.
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #folkart #indianfolkart #bengaliart #indianartsandcrafts #odyssey #odysseyfanart #greekmythology #trojanhorse #horsesofinstagram #literaryart #classicliterature #classics by @geetasadashivan

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3 months ago

I came across the painting "Yellow Cow" by Franz Marc (slide 2) and it looked so joyful, it reminded me of the god Shiva's bull, Nandi, whose name itself means "Joy."
Nandi is always shown with a "shivalinga"--a representation of Shiva, so I included that reference in the hump on his back, which has about the same shape as a "shivalinga."
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #indianfolkart #folkart #indianartsandcrafts #nandi #bull #shiva #hindugods #joyful #franzmarc #yellowcow #adaptation #icon #sacredart by @geetasadashivan

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3 months ago

This is a representation of Shiva-Shakti or "Ardhanarishwara"--the non-binary form of Shiva, in which the god is shown as half-male and half-female. Usually, the entire body is shown with male dress and hair on the left and female clothing, ornaments, and long veil on the right side of the same body. (Slide 2 and slide 3 show some examples I found online.) However, I decided to focus on the feet and show the symbols of Shiva and Shakti as decorations on the feet. In doing so, I had an epiphany: maybe my style isn't maximalist or minimalist-- maybe it is "minimal-ish" 😊 I like to keep things simple but I also like some flourishes!
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#madhubani #madhubaniart #indianfolkart #folkart #indianartsandcrafts #shiva #shakti #hindugods #ardhanarishwara #nonbinary #icon #religiousicons #hinduicons #sacredart #feet #shivashaktifeet by @geetasadashivan

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3 months ago